PlayStation 2
Released in 2003 by Sega
Grade: B+
This is a really solid attempt at simulation football. It’s significantly better than NFL 2K3, but significantly worse than ESPN NFL 2K5.
Where it falls in the series
This is essentially NFL 2K4, the fifth 2K football game and the third on PS2 and Xbox. I’m not sure if they wanted to highlight the ESPN name or ditch the 2K name or both. Whatever the case, the box art has the words “2K4 Sega” in the corner, just to make things clear.
This was followed by ESPN NFL 2K5, which totally kicks ass and was sold for only $20, which significantly affected sales of Madden 2005. So, EA Sports then acquired the exclusive rights to the NFL, putting 2K in a bind and pissing off a lot of gamers. 2K took two years off from football, then released All-Pro Football 2K8 on PS3 and Xbox 360. It’s another great game, but without the NFL license, it didn’t sell enough and 2K retired from football.
Praises and gripes
2K finally wised up for this game. The gameplay feels much more wide open and natural than in the earlier versions. You can actually complete passes by reading the defense and making the right pass, which is a huge difference. I don’t feel like I need to use cheap tricks or choose one of the few plays that works magically. I can just, you know, play football.
The action moves at a nice, swift pace. It’s smoother than before, with new animations for gang tackles, jukes, spins, and stiff-arms, but it’s still pretty herky-jerky. Your players can freely cut and turn on a dime with no slowdown or momentum effect like in the Madden games. This makes certain runs look funky, and also causes headaches on defense when you’re trying to track down the ballcarrier. You can’t anticipate his movement because he can make a jerky move that’s not humanly possible.
Most of the other controls are about right. On defense, it’s intuitive to bat down a pass or go for the interception. Passing is appropriately tricky, as you’ve got to feather the thumbstick to keep your quarterback in a good stance. Passes still feel “floaty,” not as slow as in 2K3, but slower than in 2K5.
The game’s tactical depth is much improved. The whole 2K/Madden competition is funny, because this series only got good when they started copying Madden. In this version, you’ve now got Madden’s 3-box playcall screen, the same play diagram on the field with the same red lines showing who is defending whom, and the same exact set of hot routes. The playbook is more fleshed out than before, with more play-action passes and screens.
This game was known for flashy presentation that was unprecedented at the time. The ESPN logos and music and animated Chris Berman made everybody go gaga. It’s also got stuff like fans dancing around in the stands, coaches barking orders, players helping each other up, stuff like that. I’ve read people applauding the commentary, but honestly I find it annoying. This game also has one of the more annoying sound quirks, where you hear bits of stadium music that are knock-offs of famous songs.
It’s a good game, but you probably won’t play it. You’ll probably play ESPN NFL 2K5. If for some reason you really want to play a 2004 NFL game, I think Madden NFL 2004 is much better. This game served as a great stepping stone from the more primitive 2K3 version to the more advanced 2K5 version.